Updating the .Mac site

I'm updating the .Mac site with some pictures.. should be up and running by the time you're reading this.

Send me an email if you need the password.

El Conductor!

Aidan propped the framed photo on top of his climbing gym, took the handle from one of his toy golf clubs, climbed onto the platform of the gym.....
..and commenced to conduct his imaginary symphony while humming Dvorak (Baby Einstein's influence is going a little far, I think!)

The Dentist!

Today, the boys each had their first ever visit to the Dentist!
Aidan's teeth are in perfect shape. But the really surprising thing is how well Aidan did with letting them clean and polish his teeth! Mama says he was very chatty with the hygienist and was more than happy to open-wide and let her take care of his teeth. And he was really charmed with the Goodie Bag they gave him when he was all done.
Bryce was a little less cooperative, but still did fine. They just checked his bite and made sure his teeth all looked good.
And speaking of all his teeth, the dentist was amazed to find that Bryce already has 16! I don't think they believed it until they saw it with their own eyes!

Oh, and...

Also.. today was Picture day at school... and the report is that both boys did a great job having their picture taken together... which is another great relief, after one of our last experiences trying to get the boys to have a picture made together..

Bryce's Full Day

Those of you who haven't been tracking Bryce's gradual 'settling' into a pre-school routine may not find this news very exciting... but I did want to let the word get out that Bryce spent a full day at school today.. for the first time since his very first day (when he had no idea what was happening).


For the last several weeks, Bryce has been going to school for his twice-weekly class.. but since that first day, he was raising such a fuss that the teacher was having to call Mama and have her come pick him up after just the first two hours. This routine has shown small signs of improvement over the last month or so, as Bryce has slowly become less and less HYSTERICAL during those two hours, but...
1) he steadfastly refused to lay down during nap-time
and
2) he rarely if ever participated in activities his classmates were doing...

...until today!

Last week, and again on Monday, we got a good report-- that Bryce was doing better during the day.. and rather than coming straight over at 11:00 to pick him up, Mama had started calling over to the school to see if perhaps she could extend the time a little before coming to get him. On Monday, he did pretty well, but if memory serves Mama still wound up getting him sometime around noon.

But today, when she called the school, they said that he was doing great! And he napped! And when he woke up from his nap, did he begin screaming hysterically-- as he often does when roused from a nap at home?-- No! He played!! A 100% turnaround! Until Mama picked both boys up at the normal time, 2:00.

Our boy does have a scholastic future!
What a relief.

Boobah!

Aidan spent his pre-bath wind-down time tonight watching a tape of a very very strange little show called Boobah. Seriously. This show makes Teletubbies look like Masterpiece Theater.

Anyway, I overheard him make this remark to his Aunt Laura, who was sitting watching the show with him:

Aidan: "Mama taped this."
Laura: "She did?"
Aidan: "Yeah. She's a great taper!"

The Real Halloween Costumes

A dry run with the real Halloween Costumes...
Aidan as 'Bob the Builder'
Bryce as a Lion

I'll be a scary bag!

It is well-known that Aidan will be going trick-or- treating this year as Bob the Builder...
but this afternoon, he was experimenting with an alternative costume:

Aidan: "Hey Dad, I'm a bag!"
Yours truly: "Oooh, a bag!"
Aidan: "Yeah, I'm a scary bag! Roooooaaaarr!"

Ups

"Daddy, the balloons have lost their ups."

--Aidan, this morning, on discovering that most of the balloons from yesterday's birthday celebration were floating at 'half-mast'.

Happy Birthday, Mama!

Let's go to the Pumpkin Patch!

Oh, this was a day Aidan's been waiting for since the first whispers of summer's end-- time to go to the PUMPKIN PATCH!

(we just got back, and man are we whipped!)

I took the day off and came along for the ride with Mama, Bryce, Aidan, and the rest of Aidan's pre-school class.


We spent the first part of the day at Crockett Park. Aidan had a great time running all over the park, swinging on swings, and sliding down every slide in the place.

Then we had lunch and headed over to Walden Farm. The Waldens grow 10 acres of pumpkins, but they've got all kinds of farm-related things for kids to do... So we went on a hay-ride around the farm, petted some sheep, Aidan got bit by a turkey (just a nip on the finger-- nothing for Gramma to worry about!), fed some corn to a few goats, walked through a corn-maze....
and then, finally, the main event...
Aidan and Bryce each got to pick out a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch...

All in all, a FULL day, to say the least. Bryce is napping now even as I write this.. and Aidan is well on his way to an early bed-time.

In case you were wondering...

Aidan's latest alter-ego is "Leo", from the truly excellent new kids show, "Little Einsteins" on the Disney Channel.

So if you hear Aidan say "I'm Leo," now you know who he's talking about.

Infirmary Report 2

Well, now the boys are well-- Bryce had ear infections in both ears, but he's now several doses into his antibiotic and doing fine-- but Mama and I have both been through the ringer with this thing. She came down with it over the weekend, but by Monday she was feeling much better. Then I started to come down with it on Tuesday afternoon and have been battling this crud-- whatever it really is-- for the last two days...

Hence the lack of posts the last week or so...

This weekend promises to be big, though.
All four of us are going to the pumpkin patch tomorrow-- this is Aidan's annual class trip.
Here's a picture from last year's trip-- really puts me in the mood for Fall!

Then on Saturday, we're celebrating the birthday of Aidan's friend Keaton at Chuck E. Cheese. This information is still highly classified. If word gets out, then Aidan will surely spend the next couple of days and nights standing outside the car, asking if it's time to go yet.

Sunday brings Mama's birthday celebration. How old will she be? Talk about confidential information!

Quick Update

Aidan is well on the way to recovery today.. he went to school and all that remains of the crud he came down with over the weekend is a lingering cough.

Bryce, on the other hand, is just now becoming symptomatic. Just when we thought we were out of the woods. A little fever this morning and some congestion, so Mama decided to hold him out of school this morning..

The Infirmary Report

Aidan stayed home from school today. On Saturday night he struck a temperature and didn't sleep very well at all. He seemed to be feeling better yesterday, with the help of a dose of Children's Motrin. But then, last night, the fever returned.

So he's been moping around the house today-- he hates to miss school. But Mama reports that the fever hasn't returned yet today and Aidan is, at this moment, snoozing on the couch, catching up on a little of the sleep he missed over the weekend.

The Were-Rabbit!

Aidan went to his first movie in the theater today! We took him to see "Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit".

We were a little worried that Aidan wouldn't like the theater. Memories of last October when we took him to see The Wiggles live in concert ran through our minds. That concert last year wasn't such a bad time-- it's just that Aidan spent the entire concert with his fingers firmly planted in his ears. When we asked him afterwards if he had a good time, he gave a noncommital "Yes," but then qualified it with "but it was very loud!"

Knowing how movie theaters are these days (teenagers for 'sound engineers,' apparently, who meditatively recite the old Kiss mantra "If it's too loud, you're too old"), we anticipated a similar outcome. When we got into the theater, the previews were running and Aidan stuck his fingers in his ears and things didn't look good.

But once the main feature came on and Aidan heard that familiar "Wallace & Gromit" theme music, he settled right into his seat.

He did a lot of asking "What just happened?".. I think the action moved a little quickly for him in spots.. but overall, I think he loved it.

His review: when the credits rolled and the lights came up, he looked at me and said "Well, that was a fun movie!"

His favorite part was where Wallace... well, we wouldn't want to give away too much of the plot.